The 47th Anniversary Of The Fall Of Saigon

Today is the 47th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, ending once and for all American involvement in Vietnam. The war started when I was attending Fort Dearborn Elementary School in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago, and was still going strong when I rushed to the IIT (Illinois Institute of Technology) Bookstore after class to pick up a copy of the Chicago Daily News one day to see what my draft lottery number was, which would determine if I would get a much closer look at Vietnam than I wanted at the time. My number was over 300, thank God, but thousands of others were not so lucky. Over 58,000 Americans died during the war, and total deaths, including civilians, were over 1.3 million, not including the psychological damage to many thousands more. And in the end, all for nothing. So sad.

Week 3 Of Photography And Self

Today I am attending the 3rd session of Photography and Self, a class sponsored by the Denver Public Library and the University of Denver. It is an intergenerational group, half DU photography students and half senior citizens, and focuses on taking self-portraits (selfies) with your smart phone. Last week Roddy, the DU photography professor, introduced the class to various photo apps that can be used to enhance your selfies, one of which - Grunge Photo Editor - I used to modify the above self-portrait. Of course, I have no idea what "grunge" is - a style of music from Seattle, perhaps? And just what makes the above photograph grunge?  Definitely a question to ask the class. And as for smartphones and photography, I have to admit that I still miss those old rotary dial phones. Does that make me an old fogey? Don't answer that.

Slough House

I just finished reading Slough House, Mick Herron's latest "Slow Horses" spy thriller. I really like this series, which is about British MI5 spies that have screwed up so badly that they are sent to Slough House, where under the control of the eccentric, vulgar, but brilliant Jackson Lamb, they are given mind-numbing desk assignments to keep them out of trouble. Of course, this never works, and they always seem to be in the middle of every major operation. Although I enjoy reading these books, and recommend the series, I am somewhat surprised that Herron kills off one of his main characters in what seems like every book, always replaced by a new screw-up banished to Slough House. What's the deal with that? However, it does make his books more exciting to read, since unlike other mystery series, you know one of the team is a goner. In any case, this time, both current and ex-Slough House spies are being targeted for death as revenge for an MI5 hit on a Russian spy. It is an exciting and often humorous read, and I recommend picking up a copy from your local library. I also am looking forward to reading Bad Actors, Herron's next book, scheduled to be released in May. I just hope he doesn't wind up killing one of the characters I like.

Golden Reflections

I took the above photograph of the reflections in a store window when I was up in Golden, Colorado the other day. Photographs of window reflections are considered kind of lowbrow by art photographers. I remember years ago there was an exhibition of photographs at the Denver Art Museum by a local photographer, some of which featured store reflections, and the art community was aghast, saying his photos were unworthy of being exhibited at the DAM. Of course, right now there is a photography exhibit at the Denver Art Museum called Curious Visions: Toward Abstract Photography, which features photographs that are completely unidentifiable, but no doubt "artsy." I myself prefer traditional photographs, including window reflections, especially when you can see Table Mesa featured prominently in that window. And despite this, I still feel like an "artiste."

Walking Around Golden

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, my sister Susan and I visited the old mining towns of Central City and Blackhawk on Sunday. We followed up that adventure by walking around the city of Golden yesterday afternoon. Golden was founded back in 1859, and served as a supply center for Central City and Blackhawk back in the 19th century. Golden was also the capital of the Colorado Territory until 1867, when the fast-growing city of Denver became the territorial capital. Today, Golden is a suburb of Denver, but because it is sheltered from the rest of the metropolitan area by Table Mesa, it has retained its small-town atmosphere and is a popular tourist destination. 

Golden still has many Victorian era buildings, including the Astor House, built in 1867 and Colorado's oldest hotel (actually a rooming house, but when you get right down to it, what's the difference?). There are quite a few beautiful 19th century homes in the city, too, especially in the 12th Street Historic District, where the house in the photograph on the right is located. Many of these homes are from the 1860s and 1870s, close to downtown, including one that has the Golden City Brewery located in its backyard. Talk about a neighborhood amenity!

Perhaps the nicest thing about Golden, besides its location right up against the foothills, is that it is located along Clear Creek, seen in the photograph on the left, with Table Mesa in the background. There is an historic park, with some original pioneer cabins and a one room schoolhouse, located along its banks, as well as walking trails that lead into the nearby mountains. The river is popular with tubers during the summer months, but probably is most famous for being the water source for the Coors Brewery, located just downstream, and which has been around since 1873. Recently, Coors announced that it is restarting its brewery tours, after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic. However, they now charge $20 for this tour, while the smaller craft breweries around the Denver area charge nothing. Let me think - pay $20 for a Coors Brewery tour and get a sample of Coors beer afterwards, or get a free tour of a craft brewery, buy a couple of pints, and have money left in your pocket? Decisions, decisions. 

A Visit To Central City

My sister Susan and I, along with her dog Blackberry, drove up to Central City yesterday afternoon. Central City and Blackhawk were both gold mining towns established in 1859, and located 35 miles west of Denver by way of Clear Creek Canyon. Gambling was legalized in those two communities back in the 1990s, which resulted in Black Hawk becoming a mini–Las Vegas, while Central City, due to zoning restrictions in its historic district, was not able to attract the larger casinos, and thus able to retain much of its 19th Century charm. The Teller House (on the right in the photograph on the left), and the Central City Opera House are two of the city's most historic buildings.

Happily, Central City still has some very nice Victorian era homes, and feels like a small, old-time mountain community. Black Hawk, on the other hand, also has some historic structures, but most are squeezed between huge modern casinos, detracting from the ambiance. While we were there, cars were lined up to get into the casino parking garages, while in Central City, the streets were mostly empty, with just a few people walking around, checking out the downtown shops. Of course, by then it was starting to snow, and pretty cold, too, which is always a negative to visiting tourists.

After touring Central City, we were planning on driving north on the Peak to Peak highway to Nederland, which was a popular town for hippies back in the 1960s (they are all still there, by the way, but much older). However, the higher we went, the harder the snow fell. After about 5 miles, the roads became snow packed, and so we decided to head back down to Golden, where it was much warmer, with no snow in sight. It is just amazing that Denver is suffering a major drought and has had virtually no snow in April, while just to the west, it has been snowing like crazy. That is the joy of living in Colorado, I guess.

Watching Tottenham Play Brentford With Mark

I watched the soccer match between Tottenham and Brentford yesterday morning with my friend Mark, seen in the photograph above wearing his Tottenham jersey. Mark, as regular blog readers know, works at the University of Denver's Anderson Academic Commons, otherwise known as the library. When what used to be known as Penrose Library was remodeled, the administration was not planning to put hardly any books back there (nasty things), but the faculty put up such a fuss that they agreed to return half of what was originally there - in the basement, of course, on those lovely bookshelves that can be cranked into a corner. But as usual, I digress. The game finished in a 0-0 draw, which was bad news for Tottenham, which is a fairly good team trying to move up in the standings, while Brentford, as far as I can tell, stinks. I suspect Tottenham is trying to become the Chicago Cubs of the English Premier League, "lovable losers" who choke when the chips are down. But that is just my opinion. The correct one, of course, but I am too modest to say so.

Photography And Self

I am taking a class over the next 4 weeks called Photography and Self, sponsored by the University of Denver and the Denver Public Library. One of the instructors is Roddy McInnes, my friend and also the head of the DU photography department, with whom I have taken many classes. The description in the online brochure states that the class will "engage in an exploration of self through the medium of photography, storytelling, and intergenerational conversations." The class is made up of seniors and DU students, and is meant to bring these two generations closer together. The first assignment was to take several selfies, using a smartphone camera, and post them on the Flickr web site. I dutifully did this, posting three self-portraits, including the one on the left. I figured that this particular self-portrait would definitely result in establishing common ground between the generations. Everyone can recognize crazy, no matter their age.

What To Rant About Next? That Is The Question

Regular blog readers are familiar with my rants about the University of Denver outsourcing the DU Bookstore to Follett Higher Education Group without offering the employees alternative employment, and Follett then laying off many of those employees (including me) when the agreement to keep them for at least one year expired. But sadly, the time for ranting about that has come to an end. The person who engineered the outsourcing to Follett is now retired, as is the chancellor who rubberstamped the decision. As for Follett Higher Education Group, which was just a horrible company to work for, as I learned in the year I was employed there, it has been sold to an investor group, and will hopefully make changing the toxic atmosphere in their stores a top priority. And so, what can I rant about next? Ranting is one of my favorite pastimes, and my two favorite targets are gone. I will have to devote a lot of thought to my next villains. Politicians perhaps? Nah - no one should target people who are selflessly devoted to working together for the common good, right? Right?

Cruising Castle Rock

I drove down to Castle Rock, Colorado a few weeks back to check out its historic downtown and the surrounding neighborhoods. The city was founded in 1874 to serve the nearby farms and surrounding mining camps, and although I have passed by this community on the way to Colorado Springs many times, I have never stopped until now. Unfortunately, I did not do much research before visiting, and after checking the town out on the internet after returning home, realized I had missed a lot of interesting sites. However, I did see the Benjamin Hammar House, built in 1887 and seen in the photograph on the left, with the town's namesake landmark in the background.

Another landmark I passed was the Castle Cafe, seen in the photograph on the right. This building started out as the Castle Bar and Cafe, and was the wildest spot in town back in the 1890s. Douglas County had to hire an extra deputy on pay day to stop brawls, and also to prevent drunken cowboys from riding their horses into the bar. The Castle Cafe still exists, and claims to have the best pan-fried chicken in the world, which I am sure is not an exageration. While there, I did not see one drunken cowboy riding their horse through the front door, and so am happy to report that the Douglas County Sheriff's Office is evidently doing a bang-up job.

The building on the left was built in 1904 and was originally the First National Bank of Douglas County. After failing during the depression, it became a Masonic temple. There are a lot of restaurants and shops in the downtown area, including several antique stores, and a surprising number of people were walking up and down the streets while I was there, enjoying the day. Since I visited, I have run across a walking tour of the area, and plan to print it out and visit Castle Rock again soon. That walking tour, by the way, can be found at http://co-castlerock2.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/337/Walking-tour-of-historic-Downtown-Castle-Rock-PDF?bidId= . And just for the record, Castle Rock beats the hell out of Lakewood, that ugly suburb to the west of Denver. I'm just sayin'.

Talking About Baseball And Life At Old Chicago

I had a late lunch yesterday afternoon with my friend Stuart - seen in the photograph above - at the Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom in beautiful Lakewood, Colorado. Of course, when I think about Lakewood, I am reminded of those Nebraska tourism ads on television, where they state that "it's not for everyone." And Lakewood is possibly not for anyone. In any case, among other things, Stuart and I discussed baseball and the prospects for both the Cubs and the White Sox this year. Stuart is originally from the North Side of Chicago, and a Cubs fan, and I am from the South Side, and, of course, a White Sox fan. The Cubs traded away all their star players last year, and are in a rebuilding phase. The White Sox finished first in the American League Central last year, thanks to playing in a weak division, and will probably win it again this year, too. Neither Stuart nor I are holding our breath thinking either team will make it to the World Series. As for the Colorado Rockies, they might as well just head for the golf course now and save a lot of time and frustration for both players and fans. And saying that, I am actually being kind.

Bonding With Blackberry

I have been trying to "bond" with my sister Susan's dog Blackberry lately, by which I mean trying to train her to behave while she is staying at my condo. Rule number one is to stay off the furniture. You can tell how well that is working from the above photograph. I am also trying to toilet train her. I have been told that trying to toilet train a 15-year dog is foolhardy, but I still believe you can teach an old dog new tricks. After all, look at me. Blackberry seems to have a bladder control issue. and evidently can't hold it between walks. Therefore, I have been trying to get her to use the "wee" pads I have strategically placed throughout the apartment. Right now, she seems to be batting about .500, which means that if she were a baseball player, she would be making millions of dollars. Talk about success!

The April Issue Of Chicago Magazine

I finally started receiving Chicago Magazine again after a 3-month snafu with the subscription. Although I have been living here in Denver for the past 41 years, I still like to keep up with what is happening back in my old hometown. This month's cover story is about the 14 new "must visit" restaurants that are "fueling a dining renaissance" in Chicago. Most if not all of these restaurants are in the Loop or on the North Side (I am, of course, a South Sider), and virtually all of them feature truly weird dishes at very high prices. However, there were also several interesting features in the magazine this month. One was about a major flood in downtown Chicago back in 1992. Evidently, the Loop is filled with abandoned underground tunnels that once were used to move coal through the city. Some of these tunnels run under the Chicago River, and during a renovation project along that river a construction company punched a hole through one, causing a gigantic flood and much embarrassment for the city. The mayor at the time kept insisting that this was no laughing matter, although a lot of people thought it was. There was also an article about a plan to extend the Red Line (the "L") to the far South Side, close to the Calumet River. I myself have very nostalgic memories about the Calumet River. I took a cruise on it twice - once with the Cub Scouts, and once with my grade school class - and boy, is that river ugly. There were large ships to see when we got to Lake Calumet, which is connected to Lake Michigan, but getting there was an eye opener. I think the purpose of the trip was to show where we all might wind up if we didn't study hard. But then again, I was just a kid at the time, and so maybe the river is not so bad after all. Perhaps some of you Chicagoans out there might be willing to book a cruise on the Calumet and let me know what you think. I'm sure you'll love it!

Happy Easter!

Today is Easter Sunday. For the past few Easters (and probably more) I have been posting on this blog a photograph of myself holding an Easter basket on the back porch of our house in the South Side Brainerd neighborhood of Chicago. It is one of the only photographs I know for sure was taken on Easter. This year, I decided to mix things up by featuring a photograph from 1957, taken in the dining room of that house in Brainerd. It could have been taken on Thanksgiving or Easter, but it really doesn't matter. It was a gathering which included both sides of the family, and was obviously a happy time for all. And that is what I think holidays are really all about. With that said, I hope you all have a Happy Easter with your loved ones. And by the way, from left to right in the photograph above are Aunt Kitty, my maternal grandfather's sister, my mother Mary, my maternal grandmother Louise Spillard, paternal grandmother Fleta Hoyt, myself at my most charming best (it was all downhill from there), and in the background, Petie the parakeet.

Taking A Photography Class With Roddy Again!

I was taking my sister Susan's dog Blackberry for a walk by the University of Denver campus the other day, and ran into Roddy, my old DU photography professor. Roddy is still teaching classes and still having fun doing it. The next day. I got a message from him inviting me to a photography class he and two others are teaching every Friday afternoon in the basement of a local church, bringing together both DU students and members of the community over 50 years old. I didn't see the message until about an hour before the class started, but somehow made it there on time. The class is exclusively focused on taking photographs with a smart phone, and appears to be sponsored by both DU and the Denver Public Library. I enjoyed it, but since I showed up on such short notice, had no idea what the name of the class was, or for that matter, how many weeks it will last or what it will cover. In other words, I was clueless. Perfect! Just like the good old days! And by the way, after the class ended, I took the photograph above of Roddy (on the right) and a DU student (on the left), who was playing a song for the group. A very nice ending to a very nice afternoon.

The 110th Anniversary Of The Sinking Of The Titanic

It was 110 years ago today that the "unsinkable" Titanic sank in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage, with the loss of over 1,500 lives. The ship was warned 6 times about icebergs in the area, but still proceeded through the dangerous ice field at 22 knots, way too fast for the conditions. It struck an iceberg on the starboard side, flooding 5 watertight compartments. The ship was designed to withstand the flooding of only 4 compartments. There were only 20 lifeboats, enough to hold just half the passengers, and many of those boats were launched half empty. It is still the largest peacetime maritime disaster in history. The photograph above shows the Titanic as it looks today. It was discovered by a joint French-American expedition at a depth of 12,500 feet. In addition to the many photographs taken, including the one above, they salvaged many items, most of which have been featured in exhibitions around the world. Which is good, since it is a tragedy that should never be forgotten.

The April Mutt Of The Month

I took the above photograph of this month's mutt of the month tied up in front of Reiver's, a popular bar and restaurant on Old South Gaylord Street here in Denver. Reiver's is a great place for taking dog portraits. There seem to be a lot of people in the East Washington Park neighborhood who enjoy walking their dogs to this bar, tying them up out in front, next to a bowl of beer, and then heading inside for a few libations. Of course, in the UK, you can actually bring your dog into a pub, and even let it sit in a chair at the table if you choose. Why is that okay there, but not here? Life is so unfair, even for dogs. 

Upstairs, Downstairs - Union Station Style

There has been a lot of publicity here in Denver about Union Station lately. What used to be the main waiting room for this railroad station is now a hipster haven, featuring bars, restaurants, an upscale hotel, and a large gathering space with lots of sofas and comfy chairs. However, downstairs is the city's main bus terminal, which is now a gathering place for drug dealers, assorted other criminals, and the homeless. The Denver police and RTD transit police have been trying to manage the situation, but seem to be struggling to do so. And why is this happening now? My theory is it is because the old greyhound bus station was recently sold to real estate developers and torn down. That place used to be filled with all sorts of scary characters, and I suspect they all moved to the Union Station underground bus terminal along with the greyhound busses. And by the way, I took the photograph above of a bar located on the main floor of Union Station early one afternoon, showing a couple of guys having a few stiff drinks to boost their courage before heading downstairs to catch their bus. Good luck guys!

Mermaid Confidential

I just finished reading Mermaid Confidential, Tim Dorsey's latest Florida comic novel. It once again features Serge, a serial killer with a heart of gold, and his pal Coleman, who decide to give up their nomad lifestyle and give condo living a try down in the Florida Keys. Serge (not to mention author Tim Dorsey) is a Florida buff, and all of these novels feature lots of local color and interesting places to visit the next time you are in the Sunshine State.  As I started reading this book, I began to think to myself "more of the same," but soon got caught up in all the action. I recommend that you pick up a copy at your local library today.

Happy Hour With Wally At Reiver's

I got together with Wally - my friend and former University of Denver Bookstore colleague - Friday evening for happy hour at Reiver's, a popular bar and restaurant on Old South Gaylord Street here in Denver. Wally - seen in the photograph above on the right - is doing well, and recently returned from a trip to San Francisco he and his wife Linda took to visit their two children, Peter and Lydia.  Lydia and her husband live in Los Altos, while Peter and his wife live near Golden Gate Park. Peter, who works full time as a computer programmer, also volunteers to lead tours of San Francisco twice a month thru the San Francisco Public Library. While there, Wally and Linda took his tour of the downtown area and were quite impressed. Wally recommended that I definitely take it the next time I am in San Francisco. He tells me that these tours are actually free, although you can make a donation to the library if you choose. Of course, as blog readers well know, free is my favorite price point, although I would probably have to face staying overnight again in Wendover, Utah on the drive there. Talk about a bummer.

National Champions!

The University of Denver Pioneers won the 2022 NCAA National Hockey Championship over Minnesota State last night. It was their ninth NCAA hockey title, tying the record for most in NCAA history. I did not watch the game, but living across the street from the DU campus, I guessed that they had won from the cheers and car horns coming through the open window. Later on, I took my sister Susan's dog Blackberry out for a walk, and we followed the sound of those cheers to the corner of University Boulevard and Evans Avenue, the gateway to the campus. There, students were celebrating the victory in the streets, under the watchful eyes of the Denver Police and Fire Departments, and where I took the above photograph. I noticed the policemen had what looked like automatic weapons, but suspect they fired rubber bullets like the ones used during the Black Lives Matter Protests. Happily, there was no need to use them. The celebration seemed pretty mild, even by my standards, although I did hear reports of a few couch fires further down the street that took place later on. When I got home, I saw on the television news that the main celebration was on the rooftop patio and in the parking lot of The Pioneer, a local DU hangout. Since it was getting late, I decided to skip heading over there to celebrate. After all, I need my beauty sleep.

Soaking Up The Opening Day Atmosphere

I took the light rail train to Lower Downtown Denver yesterday afternoon to experience the Opening Day atmosphere around Coors Field and the surrounding neighborhood. It was a beautiful sunny day in the 70s, and so not surprisingly, the streets were packed. In addition to the huge crowds going into the ballpark, as seen in the photograph on the left, there were also long lines to get into the nearby bars, especially the ones with rooftop patios. The line to get into the View House was a block long, and this was just a short while until game time. Obviously, those fans were planning to celebrate Opening Day in an alternative fashion.

These days, at least here in Denver, it is not Opening Day, but Opening Weekend, which means they can charge higher prices for the Saturday and Sunday games, too. As I have mentioned before, I decided not to attend Opening Day anymore since in recent years it has become so overpriced. The same goes for the other two games this weekend, which no doubt will have high prices without the pomp and pageantry. Hopefully the results of those two games will be a bit better, since the Rockies lost yesterday's game to the Los Angeles Dodgers by a score of 5 to 3. 

There was a large police presence around the stadium yesterday. The underground bus terminal at Union Station has been getting a lot of bad publicity about drug deals and other criminal activity taking place there, and the light rail stop at the end of that terminal has been a popular gathering place for the homeless. The transit police were covering that area big time, while the Denver police seemed to be having a public relations campaign on 21st Street, just to the east of the ballpark They had on display an armored SWAT vehicle, a souped-up police muscle car, a booth featuring a bomb sniffing dog, and last but not least, three mounted police officers letting the public pet their horses, as seen in the photo on the left. After all, they had nothing better to do at that time of day. The shooting doesn't start in that neighborhood until after the bars close at 2:00 A.M. No doubt the day shift will all be safe in their beds by then. As for the night shift, well...

Opening Day At Coors Field!

Today is Opening Day at Coors Field, which here in Denver is treated like a national holiday. Although I intend to head to Lower Downtown today to enjoy all the festivities taking place around the ballpark, I once again will not be attending the game, thanks to the advent of "dynamic pricing," which raises the price of an opening day ticket to a ridiculous amount. However, not being at the game anymore, I have noticed that many of the thousands of people hanging around Coors Field also don't attend - or for that matter even watch - the game. They are just there to take the day off and party. Any excuse will do. And how will the Colorado Rockies do this year? The team has signed several very good hitters, including all-star Kris Bryant, to add some pop to their lineup, but unlike true contenders, the team has no depth. If one of their starting pitchers suffers an injury, or one of their best hitters goes down, they have nobody decent to replace them, and start losing big-time. In other words, they are doomed. The photograph above, by the way, is from Opening Day 2003. And I am here to tell you that the Opening Day ceremonies never change. If you've seen one, you've seen them all, and after that it is just another ballgame. And a damn expensive ballgame at that. A cynical point of view, but true.

Visiting Stanley Marketplace

My sister Susan and I visited Stanley Marketplace a few weeks ago, looking around at the various shops and doing a little people watching. This shopping complex has over 50 independent businesses housed in what was once the manufacturing plant for Stanley Aviation, which made ejection seats for the air force and was located just off the main runway of what was once Denver's Stapleton Airport. It says on the Stanley Marketplace website that test planes would take off from this facility, and when the company developed an escape capsule for the B-58 Hustler, company owner Bob Stanley borrowed live bears from the Denver Zoo to test it. Now THAT would have made a great photograph. And by the way, the photograph I did take, seen on the left, is of my sister Susan checking the place out. She hates having her photo taken these days, and there would have been bloodshed if she had caught me snapping it. Talk about taking a risk.

This retail center is on the border of Aurora and Denver's Central Park neighborhood, which is where Stapleton Airport was once located. Stanley Marketplace began when a few neighbors got together to start a beer hall, and the idea for it began to grow from there. It now has several brew pubs, one of which can be seen in the photograph on the right, and the whole project has been a great success. And just why was the airport moved from this spot to it's current location, close to the Kansas border? The only thing I can figure is that since Stapleton was only a 20 minute drive from downtown, and DIA is 45 minutes away during the best of times, the taxi companies must have paid serious bribes to get it moved. What other explanation can there possibly be?

Spring Arrives At Wash Park

Spring has arrived in Denver's Washington Park, although as usual, the temperatures vary widely from day to day. I took the photograph above a few days ago of Smith Lake, with Wash Park's historic boat house in the background, while biking home from a ride downtown. There are signs in the park warning people to beware of coyotes, although I have never seen one. There are foxes in the area, too. In fact, a family of them once lived on the nearby University of Denver campus. I have never given much thought to foxes, but after hearing on the local television news that they are wandering around Washington D.C. biting politicians, I am beginning to feel much more positive toward them. If I do happen to see one on my bike rides, I intend to thank it for it's service.

A Rainy Day In The Mountains

My sister Susan has taken quite a liking to Manitou Springs, Colorado, located at the foot of Pikes Peak, which we visited a week or so ago. Therefore, we decided to drive down there again this past Sunday afternoon. It was overcast and gray when we left Denver, and once we got to Colorado Springs, it started to rain. After a brief detour to Colorado City, founded in 1859, to look around, we proceeded on to Manitou Springs, where it continued to drizzle, and the weather over the mountains seemed quite threatening, as seen in the photograph on the left that I took as we entered the city limits.

Manitou Springs is a tourist town, but very quaint. The last time we visited, it was warm and sunny, and the place was filled with tourists. However, this time, what with the dreary weather, it was much less crowded, although there were still a surprising number of tourists walking around the downtown area in the rain. We decided to head to the cog railway, the road to which can be seen in the photograph on the right. It wasn't until I got there and looked around that I realized I have been confusing the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway with the Manitou Incline, which is located across the street. The cog railway takes visitors to the top of Pikes Peak, while the Manitou Incline used to be a cable car for tourists, but was later converted into a very steep hiking trail, consisting of 2,700 steps climbing over 2,000 feet in less than a mile. It is one of the most popular hiking trails in Colorado. And how could I possibly mix up the two? Easy. I have always been too cheap to take the cog railway up to the top of Pikes Peak, and too lazy to climb a trail that rises over 2,000 feet in less than a mile.

By the time we were about to head home, the weather was starting to clear up, as seen in the photograph on the left. It reminds me of the tales my parents used to tell about vacationing in Ontario at a resort called Britannia, on the Lake of Bays. Some years they said it would rain for two weeks straight. However, the day they left, the sun would come out, signaling good weather to come. Good to see that the Hoyt family luck has not changed over the past 70 years or so. It is also reassuring that there is at least some semblance of continuity in this world.

Tottenham Wins Big Over Newcastle!

I watched the Premier League soccer match between Tottenham and Newcastle yesterday morning with my friend Mark, seen in the above photograph with me at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium (where we teleported ourselves for the game).  I myself was rooting for Tottenham, since I have watched their televised games at Esters Pub here in Denver with the Colorado Spurs Supporters' Club, whose members all seem like a genial bunch, many of them British expats. Mark is also a Tottenham fan, but his favorite teams are Newcastle and Leeds, and so was cheering for Newcastle yesterday. In the end, Newcastle was badly outclassed, and Tottenham won the match 5-1. They are now in 4th place, with a chance to move up even higher in the standings.  Now that sports betting is legal here in Colorado, I should have bet big on Tottenham winning the game. I also should have bought Apple stock back when there was talk, years ago, that it might go bankrupt. Perhaps I should rectify those mistakes by betting my life savings on the Chicago White Sox winning the World Series. It would definitely make the baseball season more exciting, right? And as regular blog readers know, I am all about living on the outside edge of the envelope, just like my hero, the late Hunter S. Thompson.

A 1930s Era Colorado Road Trip

My sister Susan and I, along with her dog Blackberry, drove down to Colorado Springs from Denver last week and visited the Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs, the Broadmoor Hotel, and Cheyenne Mountain. While touring these sites, I thought about a trip my parents, maternal grandparents, and my mother's best friend took there back in (I think) 1938. My Grandfather Spillard did all of the driving from Chicago to Colorado, and my mother Mary told me it was just hellish getting there. There were no interstate highways back then, it was hot as hell, and my grandfather would repeatedly start thinking about something, slow down to a crawl, and then speed up again, making for a long long trip, although they had a good time once they got there. Happily, they took a lot of photographs, one of which is of the Garden of the Gods, and seen in the photo on the left. Since it is black and white, you can not see the deep red color of the rocks, as you can in the photographs I took of them and posted on this blog last Tuesday.

In addition to the Garden of the Gods, they also visited Seven Falls, which has been a privately run tourist attraction since 1885, and not too far from the Broadmoor Hotel, which now owns that attraction and shuttles tourists there from the hotel's parking lot. As the name implies, Seven Falls started out as a scenic natural wonder featuring seven different waterfalls, although over the years, due to floods and other effects of nature, that number has now (I think) been reduced to five. In any case, the photo on the right is of one of those falls, in front of which are, from left to right, my father Nelson, maternal Grandmother Louise, my mother's best friend Peggy, and my mother Mary. My Grandfather Bill Spillard was no doubt taking the photo.

They also drove up to the Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun on the top of Cheyenne Mountain, seen in the photograph on the left. From left to right in the photo are once again Peggy, my father, mother, and grandmother. My sister Susan and I could see this monument from the highway, but could not visit it because it is now part of the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. You have to buy an admission ticket, and then drive through the zoo to access the road to the top. I have visited this monument several times, and as I recall, did not have to drive through the zoo to see it. I tried to verify this by researching the history of this road on the internet, but could find nothing at all concerning a change in way the monument is accessed. Am I remembering wrong? Has it always been part of the zoo? Have I forgotten that I had to pay an admission fee and drive through the zoo to see this place? Are the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and the City of Colorado Springs trying to rewrite history? Am I going crazy? Don't answer that.

Interlopers At The Zoo

I could not help but notice when I was at the Denver Zoo a few days ago that there are a lot of animals around that are not part of the official "zoo family." There are more bunny rabbits than I can possibly count running around, both in the public spaces and in the animal compounds themselves. There are quite a few squirrels around, too, who seem to find the zoo grounds a veritable smorgasbord, such as the one in the photograph on the left. If they can't find anything on the ground, they simply do a bit of dumpster diving until they find something tasty, such as whatever the hell that squirrel happens to be eating.

Denver has no shortage of geese in its parks, of course, but when the flock gets too big, the city takes action, culling many of them and giving the meat to food banks. However, if they (the geese) decide to hang out at the zoo, such as the two on the fence in the photograph on the right, they are on safe ground, and no one will touch them. I am not sure if those geese are smart enough to realize that, but I suspect that if they see so many different creatures gathered together in one spot, they instinctively know they are home free. Why fly anyplace else, north or south?

The Zoo Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I went to the Denver Zoo yesterday afternoon to take a few photos. It was in the upper 40s with a bit of a cold wind, and so I was surprised to see that most of the monkeys were out and about, several of whom were interacting with zoo guests. The male madrill in the photograph on the left was sitting on the stump of a tree, posing for a portrait and surveying his kingdom, which included a female mandrill and her baby, who despite being almost two years old, is still being held onto by it's mother 24/7. If she doesn't give that kid some space, it will have some serious issues in the future. I recommend calling in the zoo psychiatrist now.

The monkey in the photograph on the right was interacting with a couple in front of its cage when I approached. It is housed in the zoo's monkey house, a pretty small facility indeed, but which has access to what is called monkey island, a large outdoor space surrounded by a moat. Despite this, this particular monkey seemed to be saying "get me the hell out of here." I sympathize, but smuggling a monkey out of the zoo would be tricky, and even then, my HOA would probably object if I brought it home with me. Best just to walk away and let it play on it's island when the weather turns a bit warmer.